I have heard so much about this Hokkien Mee stall in Kuala Lumpur but did not get a chance to try it until last Wednesday evening. Many people have told me about how good the Hokkien Mee is and how the flames from the charcoal stove will capture your attention. I tried taking a photo of the cook in action but turned out quite poor using the night shot function on my digital camera. Can’t blame an amateur, can you?

The Chef

Anyway, for insurance purposes, I took another shot using the normal settings. If you look at the stall closely, it may turn you off. This stall has been in existence for 60 years or so (according to the proprietor) and is now managed by the children of the original cook. They sell nothing but Hokkien Mee. If they have been selling nothing but Hokkien Mee for the past 60 years and survived, it must be good. Else, how to survive?

This stall is located at the backlane of Lai Foong Restaurant which is situated along Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock. Other landmarks include Petaling Street (facing S & M Plaza / Kotaraya Complex) and EON Bank Berhad. It is only open from 4pm till 11pm at night.

Awesome Hokkien Mee

The Hokkien Mee is smooth yet, unoily. I tell you, you won’t notice a layer of oil on the plate after you have finished the whole plate. This despite the cook using pork lard in the cooking. Pork lard is an essential ingredient in cooking Hokkien Mee and many Hokkien Mee lovers will insist on extra pork lard (also known as “Chu Yau Char” in cantonese) bits to add some crunch to the bite whilst tasting the smooth and semi-soft noodles.

The Hokkien Mee also comes with generous portions of lean pork and chinese mustard leaves. There was one piece of pork liver in my plate…wished there were more but perhaps, the chef did not distribute the ingredients evenly. You see, when he cooked my portion, he also cooked for another 2 customers at the same time.

What I liked about this Hokkien Mee is the texture and taste of the noodles / mee. The balance of saltiness and sweetness is just nice and the lack of visible oil gives one a sense of healthiness. Hah! I like that phrase. We all know how unhealthy Hokkien Mee can be considering pork lard is also used but well….an indulgence once in a blue moon is okay, right?

The fact that this Hokkien Mee is cooked using a charcoal stove gives the Hokkien Mee an added fragrance and “kick” unlike those churned out from gas stoves. Personally, I have a fondness for food cooked using charcoal fire and this gets my thumbs up!

My plate of Hokkien Mee together with a glass of iced chinese herbal tea costs me RM6.00. Definitely a most satisfying meal. Do check it out if you are in the vicinity of Petaling Street or Kota Raya.

tigerfish : Funnily, Hokkien Mee looks different in Singapore (and Johor), KL and Penang. In Penang, the Hokkien Mee there is what is known as Penang Prawn Mee in KL (chilli red soup). The Hokkien Mee in KL is what is shown up here whilst in Johor (or at least, Pontian Kecil) and Singapore, it’s colourless but delicious nevertheless 🙂

The stall looks like a wonderful porridge/congee stall in Klang. Just head to Jalan Melayu, the road parallel to where the Klang Bah Kut Teh stall is; it is in one of the lanes off Jalan Melayu. It only operates at night, and the “bak beh” (pork congee) or “he beh” (fish congee), or a mix of both pork and fish (including “spare parts”). It is FANTASTIC.

Unfortunately the owner has switched to using gas instead of the traditional charcoal. Along with it goes some flavour. So much for long lasting tradition. Owner says it’s gets harder to buy charcoal. Not true as my favourite hokkien mee stall in PJ in Paramount Garden still uses charcoal.